The first two-plus weeks of the NHL season have been both thrilling and maddening. The Leafs have been a scoring machine. The Canes lead the Metropolitan. And five of the seven Canadian teams are playing well enough to be in contention.

That last one is crazy. Who would have thought that?

But more has been maddening. And that's creating chaos in fantasy leagues. The Oilers scored 13 goals in their first five games. The only guy getting offence there is You-Know-Who. The Coyotes have gotten outstanding goaltending, but they only scored eight goals in six games.

Six games!

And teams that should be better – like the Blues, Kings and Panthers – can barely buy a win.

If you're like me, you feel a bit shell-shocked to start the season. I play in five leagues and my teams are all over the map. I'm leading one league and close in a second. But I'm dead last in two. The other? It's too early to tell.

How is that even possible? Same person, same general approach. Wildly different outcomes.

I'm not panicking yet. But I am getting twitchy, at least in those two leagues where I have nowhere to go but up. Yes, it's early. But when is too far behind too far behind?

Janet Eagleson is a seven-time Finalist and four-time winner of the Hockey Writer of the Year award from the Fantasy Sports Writers Association. She is a lifelong Toronto Maple Leafs fan, loved the OHL London Knights when they were bad and cheers loudly for the Blackhawks, too. But her top passion? The World Junior Hockey Championships each and every year.